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US Syria pullout draws Kurdish condemnation and Putin's praise US Syria pullout draws Kurdish condemnation and Putin's praise
(35 minutes later)
The Kurdish-led force that has led the ground war against Islamic State in Syria has condemned the surprise White House decision to withdraw US troops from the country and claimed it will spark a revival of the terror group. The Kurdish-led force that has led the ground war against Islamic State in Syria has condemned the White House’s surprise decision to withdraw US troops from the country and claimed it will spark a revival of the terror group.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a proxy of Kurdish and Arab units raised by Washington specifically to fight Isis, said the Trump administration’s move will have “dangerous implications for international stability”. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a group of Kurdish and Arab units raised by Washington specifically to fight Isis, said the Trump administration’s move would have “dangerous implications for international stability”.
The planned US pullout was announced as Turkey was preparing to send its military into Syria to confront Kurdish militias that it says threaten its sovereignty. The US-backed Kurds are drawn from the same Kurdish groups – a point that has caused friction between Ankara and Washington throughout the four year campaign against Isis. The planned US pullout was announced as Turkey was preparing to send its military into Syria to confront Kurdish militias that it says threaten its sovereignty. The US-backed Kurds are drawn from the same Kurdish groups – a point that has caused friction between Ankara and Washington throughout the four-year campaign against Isis.
The SDF and the YPG, a partner Kurdish militia, described the move as a “blatant betrayal”. One Kurdish leader contacted by the Guardian said the fight against Isis in far eastern Syria would be abandoned immediately, and all SDF units on that front would redeploy closer to the Turkish border. The SDF and the YPG, a partner Kurdish militia, described the move as a “blatant betrayal”. One Kurdish leader contacted by the Guardian said the fight against Isis in Syria’s far east would be abandoned immediately, and all SDF units on that front would redeploy closer to the Turkish border.
The SDF responded to the announcement with a blunt statement. “The war against Islamic state has not ended and the Islamic State has not been defeated,” it said. Any withdrawal would also “create a political and military vacuum in the area, leaving its people between the claws of hostile parties”. The SDF responded to the announcement with a blunt statement. “The war against Islamic State has not ended and Islamic State has not been defeated,” it said. Any withdrawal would “create a political and military vacuum in the area, leaving its people between the claws of hostile parties”.
Other Kurdish leaders said the mooted abandonment would cause damage to Kurdish movements elsewhere in the region.Other Kurdish leaders said the mooted abandonment would cause damage to Kurdish movements elsewhere in the region.
“We have every right to be afraid,” Arin Sheikmos, a Kurdish journalist and commentator, told Associated Press. “If the Americans pull out and leave us to the Turks or the [Syrian] regime, our destiny will be like the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991. Neither the regime, nor Iran nor Turkey, will accept our presence here.” “We have every right to be afraid,” Arin Sheikmos, a Kurdish journalist and commentator, told the Associated Press. “If the Americans pull out and leave us to the Turks or the [Syrian] regime, our destiny will be like the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991. Neither the regime, nor Iran nor Turkey, will accept our presence here.”
The Russian president Vladimir Putin, whose military intervened in the Syrian war in 2015, turning the tide in favour of the Assad regime, by contrast welcomed the US move. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, whose military intervened in the Syrian war in 2015, turning the tide in favour of the Assad regime, by contrast welcomed the US move.
“If the USA made that decision, then it’s the right one,” Putin said during a nationally-televised press conference on Thursday, repeating complaints that US troop deployments in Syria were “illegal” because they hadn’t been agreed upon with the Assad government. He said he agreed with the US president that a “serious blow” had been struck against Isis, saying: “Donald is right, I agree with him.” “If the USA made that decision then it’s the right one,” Putin said during a nationally televised press conference on Thursday, repeating complaints that US troop deployments in Syria were illegal because they were not agreed upon with the Assad government. He said he agreed with the US president, Donald Trump, that a “serious blow” had been struck against Isis, saying: “Donald is right, I agree with him.”
Trump’s order on Wednesday for a full, rapid withdrawal of over 2,000 US troops in Syria, and his declaration of victory over Isis, left Pentagon and state department officials scrambling to interpret an abrupt change in course from the US policy decided over the summer. At that point the policy was to keep forces in Syria to ensure the “enduring defeat of Isis” and act as a bulwark against Iranian influence. Trump’s order on Wednesday for a full, rapid withdrawal of more than 2,000 US troops from Syria, and his declaration of victory over Isis, left Pentagon and state department officials scrambling to interpret an abrupt change in course from the US policy decided over the summer. At that point the policy was to keep forces in Syria to ensure the “enduring defeat of Isis” and act as a bulwark against Iranian influence.
The move appeared to blindside Trump’s most senior officials, many of whom were invested in an ongoing partnership with the SDF after the Isis fight, primarily to counter Iran, which remains the dominant driver of US policy in the region.The move appeared to blindside Trump’s most senior officials, many of whom were invested in an ongoing partnership with the SDF after the Isis fight, primarily to counter Iran, which remains the dominant driver of US policy in the region.
Throughout the Syrian war, Turkey has prioritised managing Kurdish ambitions in Syria, and potential implications for its own Kurdish populations, above all else. Ankara sees the YPG in Syria as indistinguishable from Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) militants inside Turkey. Though Syria’s Kurds say they have no interest in full autonomy, and the PKK has said it no longer aspires to an independent state, Ankara views the militant groups as dangerous subversives who threaten its borders.Throughout the Syrian war, Turkey has prioritised managing Kurdish ambitions in Syria, and potential implications for its own Kurdish populations, above all else. Ankara sees the YPG in Syria as indistinguishable from Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) militants inside Turkey. Though Syria’s Kurds say they have no interest in full autonomy, and the PKK has said it no longer aspires to an independent state, Ankara views the militant groups as dangerous subversives who threaten its borders.
Has Isis been defeated in Syria, as Trump claims?Has Isis been defeated in Syria, as Trump claims?
On Wednesday morning, days after speaking by phone with Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump tweeted: “We have defeated Isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency” – a claim at odds with his own administration’s assessments. In August this year, the Pentagon assessed there were still as many as 14,500 Isis fighters still in Syria. On Wednesday morning, days after speaking by phone with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump tweeted: “We have defeated Isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency” – a claim at odds with his own administration’s assessments. In August this year, the Pentagon assessed there were still as many as 14,500 Isis fighters still in Syria.
The UK’s junior defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, rejected Trump’s claim. “I strongly disagree. It has morphed into other forms of extremism and the threat is very much alive,” Ellwood said in a tweet.The UK’s junior defence minister, Tobias Ellwood, rejected Trump’s claim. “I strongly disagree. It has morphed into other forms of extremism and the threat is very much alive,” Ellwood said in a tweet.
On Thursday, Trump defended his announcement, tweeting: “Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years … Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there [sic] work. Time to come home & rebuild.”On Thursday, Trump defended his announcement, tweeting: “Getting out of Syria was no surprise. I’ve been campaigning on it for years … Russia, Iran, Syria & others are the local enemy of ISIS. We were doing there [sic] work. Time to come home & rebuild.”
Trump’s outreach to Turkey also appears motivated by efforts to ease pressure on the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the CIA and Erdoğan accuse of ordering the killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Erdogan has piled pressure on Riyadh ever since, and has aimed to oust the young heir to the Saudi throne - a key ally of the Trump White House, and a regional bulwark against Iran. Trump’s outreach to Turkey also appears motivated by efforts to ease pressure on the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whom the CIA and Erdoğan accuse of ordering the killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Erdoğan has been putting pressure on Riyadh ever since and has aimed to oust the young heir to the Saudi throne, who is a key ally of the Trump White House and a regional bulwark against Iran.
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Islamic StateIslamic State
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